


everyone has gone to a party

by Mukunee



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, it's mostly fluff but there's a little bit of angst in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 02:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mukunee/pseuds/Mukunee
Summary: this is a secret santa gift for the prom's discord server to emma!!!!! hi emma i love you!! hope you enjoy!!





	everyone has gone to a party

Emma isn’t much of a partier. No one in her family was all that surprised when she ditches the family Christmas gathering; she’s done it every other year she could. However, people are left stunned when they discover that Alyssa, too, has decided to flake in favor of warm bubble baths and Netflix binges. 

Over time, Emma became more and more welcomed at Greene family gatherings, and to an extent, Alyssa has been able to sneak her way into a few Nolan meetings. Alyssa’s mother got used to Emma after enough talking, after enough intense discussions between the three of them. Emma’s parents were never able to come to that kind of agreement with Alyssa, but Betsy Nolan, Emma’s ever-generous grandmother, always had open arms for any girl her granddaughter decided to bring home. On special events, such as Christmas, the two families even came together to celebrate. 

Emma and Alyssa usually went. It never felt tool painful, but sometimes, Emma needed time to herself and Alyssa needed a break. So, when Emma proposed the idea of skipping this year’s festivities, Alyssa was in no position to decline. And so, there they are, two anti-social, lazy barely-adults snuggling close on the tiny couch they have in their tiny apartment. “Have you gotten any texts from the wicked witch of the west yet?” Emma asks, nudging the blonde gently as she flipsidly through Netflix movies. 

“I stopped counting at ten.” Sighing, Alyssa nuzzles up closer. “I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet, to be honest. I didn’t even tell her I wasn’t showing up.” A light giggle escapes her throat; a good sign, Emma notes. Things have never been the same between Alyssa and her mother, and though Emma has no business getting involved, she does her best to keep whatever peace she can. Plus, Mrs. Greene had been a pretty shitty mother from what she’s heard, throwing mold after mold for her to fill with no input from her creation. Emma can’t help but smile at how easy it is becoming for Alyssa to ignore whatever threats her mother must be tossing her way, how calm she seems while talking about her. “Anything from Betsy?”

Emma shakes her head. “I turned my phone off, so who knows?” Alyssa lets out a scoff at this, to which Emma can only laugh, “What? I barely get any time with you these days, with you working and me picking up whatever gigs I can… I fucking deserve to have you all to myself tonight.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes with a smile, and the night truly begins. They both lose track of time completely, invested in the newest lesbian rom-com on Netflix. It’s a wonderful night, until Emma notices as Alyssa’s short glances at her phone turn into long, drawn out stares. A part of Emma wants to peer over her shoulder and look, but the better, more rational part of her quickly veteos that idea. “Alyssa, what is she saying?”

There is no reply. Just silence, so loud she can’t hear the T.V. anymore. She feels her stomach drop. “What is she saying? Alyssa, if she’s giving you a hard time about this, I swear I’ll march right over there and-”  
“We’re not welcome over her house anymore.” Her voice is quiet. She knows Emma doesn’t really celebrate Christmas and only went because Alyssa wanted her to, yet she can’t help but feel guilty. Emma had worked tirelessly just to be seen as an ally, as a non-thread, just for her to go and ruin it? Sure, it was Emma’s idea, but Alyssa was the one to agree to it. “Not for Christmas, or New Year’s… I’m guessing the rest of your family got kicked out too.”

Emma later learns that no, her family is still allowed to come every Christmas Eve and Day. It hurts a bit more than she had expected it to. It feels like a targeted attack, the kind meant to leave scars. “Fuck.” In the moment, Emma doesn’t mourn the loss of Christmas dinner with the Greene’s. She, instead, mourns the gruesome butchering of progress, of everything Alyssa had done to patch up her relationship with her mother; she mourns the loss of Alyssa’s confidence. She can see it in her eyes, how much she’s hurting, how quickly the fire in her eyes had been snuffed out. “Shit- I didn’t think she’d… Really care that much.”

She wants to apologize, she just can’t find the words in time. “We fucked up.” Alyssa bites down harshly on her lip (a quirk Emma hadn’t seen out of her in months) to the point of drawing blood. Emma can feel she’s shaking now, and fuck, she has no clue what she’s supposed to do right now. She’s too angry to speak, too worried to reach out, too frustrated to act. “I guess… We have two options.” Is what she eventually settles on. “We can either rush over and apologize, make up some bullshit about traffic or accidents or whatever. Or we can just say ‘fuck it’ and watch the next episode of Everything Sucks, all warm and snug right here.”

Emma musters up the courage to grab Alyssa’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I know how much your mom means to you, but she’s a fucking psychopath. Straight-up sociopathic. If we bend over and kiss her ass, we’re letting her win.” Alyssa just looks over at her. She opens her mouth to say something, perhaps to disagree, before quickly shutting up tight. After another moment’s thought, she nods. “I… Yeah, you’re right. I just- We just got her to budge on the whole ‘Emma Nolan’s the devil’ shit. I thought we were really close to something big… Something awesome. Y’know?”

“Yeah. It’s not our faults, through. You know that, right?” Another nod. “It’ll all be okay, okay? Christmas is about spending time with the people you love, about appreciation and generosity and shit. It’s not about petty family drama like this.” Emma pulls Alyssa in closer, wrapping her arms around her smaller frame. “It’s gonna be alright.”

Thankfully, Alyssa’s body relaxes a bit. “Yeah. Yeah- yeah, you’re right.” Emma has learned not to take Alyssa at face value when it came to her own well-being, but it seems like she actually is feeling better this time, so she doesn’t prod any longer. “We can talk about it more tomorrow. For now… I think a miss Kate Messner is waiting for us.” 

Emma can tell that it’s not all okay, that her mom is still eating away at Alyssa, but she knows there’s nothing she can do about it now except be there for her when she decides to talk to her about it. So, she holds her tight and snug, doing everything she can to make her feel better. “I love you, Alyssa.”

“I love you too, Emma.” Alyssa smiles again, and though it is fainter than before, the fact it’s there at all is a comfort. “So much.” And with that, she’s leaning into Emma, grabbing the bowl of popcorn next to her and stuffing a handful in her mouth. The night resumes; the holiday cheer is back. Soon enough, Alyssa is sound asleep in Emma’s arms, Emma herself beginning to doze off too. It feels peaceful and warm, exactly the way Christmas should. She falls asleep not long after, and they spend the night cuddled close on the couch.


End file.
